Love Actually: Meet 8 Real Couples Getting Married at City Hall

It's 8:30 AM at New York's City Hall and the party is in full swing. Hundreds of couples are about to get married in tuxedos and gowns, cowboy hats and prom dresses, flip flops and jorts. The mood is radically happy—like being at the DMV if everyone was on ecstasy.

I chatted up eight different couples about the one thing that every person on earth wants: Ryan Gosling, I mean, true love. Grab a box of tissues and find a place where you can ugly-cry because these are some seriously romantic stories.

How did you two meet?Stephanie: We met via an app for the iPhone called MiUMeet. Mehdi: It was meant to be.

Were you nervous on your first date?Stephanie: I wasn't nervous, but I was getting to the point where I was like, "If this guy is not decent, I'm gonna stop dating for a while." But then he turned out to be amazing.

Mehdi: She was perfect. She wasn't a psycho or a stalker.

Interesting definition of perfect! Tell me about the proposal.Mehdi: I put the ring in a plastic bag and I threw it on the floor and I said, "Look at this mess, you should pick that up."

Stephanie: It was midnight. I was like, "I'm tired, I wanna relax, what's your problem?" He went and picked it up and then he got down on one knee and pulled the ring box out of the bag. I was so happy!

What's your favorite thing about each other?Stephanie: I could just talk to him and be myself and not have to think about what I'm gonna say or worry about how he's gonna react. Ahmed: Everything. She makes me happy.

How did you two meet?Sophie: We met two and a half years ago. I moved to the United States from France to go to Harvard Business School...Matthew: We were assigned to sit one person apart in the first half of the year and then we were assigned to sit exactly one person apart again in the second half! It was fate. Actually the one person that sat in between us is here as one of our witnesses.

What did you think the first time you saw him?Sophie: He was wearing very casual clothes, like flip flops and a large t-shirt and I was coming from France and I thought, "Oh my god! Showing up in class in flip-flops? That's terrible!"Matthew: And she was very formally dressed and very attractive. I noticed that she had a hurt hand. It turned out she had a bike accident. She bikes everywhere, stereotypical French person!Sophie: I even biked here!

And how long did it take you to start dating?Matthew: It took us a full year of business school. We started dating pretty early on in our second year. Sophie: After a week, I knew we were going to get married.Matthew: After 12 weeks of dating we decided to move to New York City together.

That's so romantic!Sophie: I was going to go to France after business school but now I'm getting married in the U.S.

What is your favorite thing about him?Sophie: He's so handsome!Matthew: (laughs) This will fade, remember.Sophie: He's probably the most patient and kind person I know.Matthew: She is incredibly strong and she pushes herself and she pushes us to be better people. Sometimes I can be easy on myself or lazy with myself, and I know that with her, I'll always push myself to be a better person.

Okay, I'm gonna cry all over the place. Why did you decide to get married at City Hall?

Sophie: This is just the civil ceremony. The religious ceremony is going to be in a castle in France over the summer.Matthew: I grew up in South Florida dreaming of a castle in France, so it's perfect for me.